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I have not messed around with the camber yet because it came out the box spot on all i have done is use big bores with stock springs and 50wt oil and some spacers so it rides nice for jumps and speed runs too....peace

UPDATE:
A couple of days ago I received an order from a-main. I got a grave digger shell, monster jam body mounts, and a 14t pinion. I also took a trip to the lhs to get the grave digger shell (which they did not have) when I saw a castle 1410 in the display case. I ended up picking up the motor because I've heard great stories about it. Fast forward to yesterday, I installed the motor with a 16 tooth pinion and, yes, it did some wheelies! I love this motor and can see why others use it. I have to say the problems I had with the tenshock having very minimal torque are gone, so I'll stick with the 1410 for now. My thought is that the tenshock is power hungry and my batteries do not provide enough.

As for the monster jam mounts and the grave digger shell, I used BaldyDaniel's method in his hr p4de to mount the fronts, which consists of cutting off the tabs and mounting them on the unused shock mounts. For the rear, I cut a simple piece of aluminum and ran two long screws through it to mount the posts. I'm not explaining it well, but the idea is the same to mount a backslash wing. I'll have pictures tomorrow.

nice build , im in michigan too and debating todo either 4x4 stampede or emaxx . want a big truck but agile and quick too , i have couple differnt mamba systems 2200/2650 laying around so just need the roller.
I had issues with power also tryin to run traxxas esc with other brand motor on my cars and boats

UPDATE:
A couple of days ago I received an order from a-main. I got a grave digger shell, monster jam body mounts, and a 14t pinion. I also took a trip to the lhs to get the grave digger shell (which they did not have) when I saw a castle 1410 in the display case. I ended up picking up the motor because I've heard great stories about it. Fast forward to yesterday, I installed the motor with a 16 tooth pinion and, yes, it did some wheelies! I love this motor and can see why others use it. I have to say the problems I had with the tenshock having very minimal torque are gone, so I'll stick with the 1410 for now. My thought is that the tenshock is power hungry and my batteries do not provide enough.

As for the monster jam mounts and the grave digger shell, I used BaldyDaniel's method in his hr p4de to mount the fronts, which consists of cutting off the tabs and mounting them on the unused shock mounts. For the rear, I cut a simple piece of aluminum and ran two long screws through it to mount the posts. I'm not explaining it well, but the idea is the same to mount a backslash wing. I'll have pictures tomorrow.

Its a shame about you not getting on with the tenshock all the packs i run are over 5300mah and 50c output maybe if you get any stronger packs you should try it again because its more powerful than the 1410 dude.....peace

nice build , im in michigan too and debating todo either 4x4 stampede or emaxx . want a big truck but agile and quick too , i have couple differnt mamba systems 2200/2650 laying around so just need the roller.
I had issues with power also tryin to run traxxas esc with other brand motor on my cars and boats

Thank you! After previously owning an e-maxx and comparing it to the limited driving time I've had with the p4de, I would steer you towards the stampede 4x4. Although it may not be as large as the e-maxx, it is more agile and quicker if you put a good brushless motor in it such as the castle 1410 or the 2200. The p4de will be more durable and not require two batteries to run. I was considering the e-maxx again before my build, but I choose the p4de because of its large parts support, helpful people on the forum, use of only one battery, size which allows me to transport it easily, the speed, and the durability for bashing. Good luck with your decision!

Its a shame about you not getting on with the tenshock all the packs i run are over 5300mah and 50c output maybe if you get any stronger packs you should try it again because its more powerful than the 1410 dude.....peace

Yeah, I wish it would have worked better, but I'll still keep it and probably put it in my rustler which I hope to rebuild soon. This summer, I will buy a 3s lipo just to try it out, and when I buy it, I'll make sure to get one with at least a 50c rating. For now, the 1410 will have more than enough power for my needs.

I may have already posted this lol, but that is a nice looking grave digger! I run my digger body on my p2de. I use a Chevy 72 truck body on my p4de, but it's time for a body upgrade. Anyways hope you get to bash it soon. Peace

dirty don and absoloot1, thanks for the nice compliments! absoloot1, I am looking forward to reading you p4de build. How's it coming along? And dirty don, I read through your need for p2de thread a few days ago and it looks like you have an awesome truck. Have you been able to run it lately?

I do not plan on running the grave digger shell simply because it looks too nice. I'm going to ream some new holes in my ford body and simply adjust the mounts when I do go bashing. Besides, the jconcepts ford shell has thicker lexan. My next step will be de-anodizing the rear shocks with oven cleaner just as I did on the fronts. The blue doesn't fit in with the black and silver, so it sticks out each time I look at it. I'm also thinking about running some sway bars. Does anybody have any recommendations on a brand to run? Also, can I run sway bars with the shock guards? Thanks!

UPDATE:
A couple of days ago I received an order from a-main. I got a grave digger shell, monster jam body mounts, and a 14t pinion. I also took a trip to the lhs to get the grave digger shell (which they did not have) when I saw a castle 1410 in the display case. I ended up picking up the motor because I've heard great stories about it. Fast forward to yesterday, I installed the motor with a 16 tooth pinion and, yes, it did some wheelies! I love this motor and can see why others use it. I have to say the problems I had with the tenshock having very minimal torque are gone, so I'll stick with the 1410 for now. My thought is that the tenshock is power hungry and my batteries do not provide enough.

As for the monster jam mounts and the grave digger shell, I used BaldyDaniel's method in his hr p4de to mount the fronts, which consists of cutting off the tabs and mounting them on the unused shock mounts. For the rear, I cut a simple piece of aluminum and ran two long screws through it to mount the posts. I'm not explaining it well, but the idea is the same to mount a backslash wing. I'll have pictures tomorrow.

Looking good man! Good job on the rear mount. If you're gonna stick with the MJ mounts, you should black out that aluminum plate to better match the look of your truck. Once its all blacked out, take an engraving tool and make that plate look like a custom made plaque with the name of your truck, your own personal logo or your initials engraved on it, it would look sweet cuz the lettering would be silver. Kinda like how hot-racing has little plaques on their shock towers with their name and logo on it. Now that i think about it, i really like the idea, i may have to try it myself.

Man i love the look of the Traxxas Digger body when its all shiny and new. Mine is all scratched up and looks like crap now. Lol

Looking good man! Good job on the rear mount. If you're gonna stick with the MJ mounts, you should black out that aluminum plate to better match the look of your truck. Once its all blacked out, take an engraving tool and make that plate look like a custom made plaque with the name of your truck, your own personal logo or your initials engraved on it, it would look sweet cuz the lettering would be silver. Kinda like how hot-racing has little plaques on their shock towers with their name and logo on it. Now that i think about it, i really like the idea, i may have to try it myself.

Man i love the look of the Traxxas Digger body when its all shiny and new. Mine is all scratched up and looks like crap now. Lol

Nice truck buddy!

Sent from Baldy's iPad using your wireless signal. Thanks!

P2DE(S) - P4DE - EMAXX - FUNNY CAR - MERV

Thank you for the compliments, I really appreciate it! That's a great idea on the mounting plate. It does look very crude at the moment, and when I have time, I was planning on lightening it by cutting off some of the unused aluminum near the bottom and rounding the edges off. What would I use to black the aluminum plate out? You've got me interested in attempting it now, but you might need to be the test guinea pig first.

o0wiz0o, great minds think alike. I do NOT plan on running this shell because it looks so nice. I was really impressed with the flames and the graveyard scene details on it when I opened the package.

Originally Posted by spenniepoos

I love the look of your truck dude its monster lol. what would i need to get a body like that to fit my pede ???.....peace

Well, first you will need the monster jam body mounts. For the front, I cut off the small tabs on the bottom of the mount and drilled holes in it so I could bolt it to the shock mounts not it use on the shock tower. The posts are at the lowest mounting position. For the rear, since the rpm tower has cut outs so you can't just bolt it directly to the tower, I had to cut out a piece of aluminum that fit the width of the tower. I then placed the mount on the back of the tower, lined up the holes on the mount with the aluminum plate on the opposite side of the tower, drilled out the holes, ran one large screw through each side of the mount, placed a nut on the aluminum side where the screws ran through, and done. It's not hard, but with that method, the existing holes on the grave digger shell will not line up, so I had to ream some new ones.

Came out really good man!! I can prolly never say it enough how much i'm a Digger fan!! LOL This is what Traxxas should have made the Grave Digger. =)

Good build bud.

Thank you for the nice compliments. I think traxxas should have made the monster jam series with the p4de. The four wheel drive would make it more realistic, although it lacks the solid axles, than the p2de. Either way I love the look of the shell. I hope they keep releasing different truck styles.

Well, it has been some time since I last posted, but I'm back with the p4de. School has kept me from having time to work on it, but I'm on break now. I did end up running the truck once back in February, and the result was not fun. I cracked the ford shell in half, cracked the case of my lipo, and discovered how off the toe and camber angles were. A couple of days ago I adjusted the camber. This is what I bought today:
-black outerwears shroud (just to protect the inside components)
-traxxas aluminum bearing carriers (to correct some of the rear toe problems)
- stampede 4x4 chassis (since I'm using the castle 1410, I also want to use the snappy esc mount)
-traxxas sway bars (for handling purposes)

I also found a new park to run at with a nice dirt road, which is partly why I bought the shroud. The temperature is rising in Michigan, so its time for the p4de to come out of hibernation.

Nice to see you back dude and looks like you have ordered some nice gear ......peace out

Thanks man! Its good to be back and hopefully now I can finally drive this thing. I can't wait for the parts to come in. They should be arriving this Tuesday, so in the meantime I will mess with the shocks and try to shoogoo the shell.

UPDATE!
I FINALLY had a great experience with the p4de. Yesterday I was able to take the p4de out for a bash session without having either electronic problems or other breakages. I installed the rpm front bumper, the traxxas sway bars, I dropped the pinion to a 14t. I ended up exchanging the passenger side rear mip shaft with a stock traxxas part because, again, the pin fell out and was lost. Yesterday, I found a construction site for a new subdivision that was filled with large dirt hills and really served as a good playground for the p4de. I had so much fun just running the truck back and forth and jumping it all around. The suspension soaked up the big ruts and bumps without flipping too much. I was really impressed considering the size of the hills and rubble around.

For the future, I am dying a new chassis so I can use the Snappy RC MMP mount (When I originally used the tenshock motor, I had to dremel out the tabs the Snappy RC mount utilized). As you will see in the pictures, I will need a new body. I'm thinking of either ordering a stock body or the pro-line ford raptor. The only problem I see in the future is a heat issue. After running at the construction site, the motor was hot to the touch, (I didn't have my gauge with me) but a fan could remedy that. And finally, my passenger side rear desperado wheel stripped the hex in the rim, so I'm thinking of trying mashers or just replacing the one wheel. The wheels and tires in the pictures come from a nitrorcx monster truck, which was my first rc.

New body for what? That'll buff right out. You should get yourself some large diameter shrink tubing and use it on the cvd drive cups to keep the pins from falling out. Did you lose the set screw barrel too? If not just pick up some .078 inch music wire at your LHS for a few bucks, it comes in 3' lengths for $2-3 and will make a lot of pins for cheap. It is also made of spring steel so you'll have to cut it with a dremel but it won't break either

You may also want to consider trimming the beads on the 2.8 tires and mounting them on 3.2" wheels using some 17mm adapters to rid yourself of the stripped hex drives. I've read lots of posts with issues regarding stripped hexes on the desperato wheels, so if you do just replace the one wheel it might be a good idea to epoxy glue the hex drive into the wheels to help strengthen them.
Sent from my GT-I9100M using Xparent Purple Tapatalk 2

New body for what? That'll buff right out. You should get yourself some large diameter shrink tubing and use it on the cvd drive cups to keep the pins from falling out. Did you lose the set screw barrel too? If not just pick up some .078 inch music wire at your LHS for a few bucks, it comes in 3' lengths for $2-3 and will make a lot of pins for cheap. It is also made of spring steel so you'll have to cut it with a dremel but it won't break either

You may also want to consider trimming the beads on the 2.8 tires and mounting them on 3.2" wheels using some 17mm adapters to rid yourself of the stripped hex drives. I've read lots of posts with issues regarding stripped hexes on the desperato wheels, so if you do just replace the one wheel it might be a good idea to epoxy glue the hex drive into the wheels to help strengthen them.
Sent from my GT-I9100M using Xparent Purple Tapatalk 2

Thanks man. Concerning the mips, I did also lose the set screw barrel. I think I will take your advice concerning the shrink tube just to make sure the other side's pins are safe. For now though, I will use the stock traxxas shaft on the passenger side until it breaks. I've seen some pictures of trimmed 2.8 tires on 3.2s and I really like the look (maybe in the future??). I was able to glue the hex into the wheel and it held up through yesterday's bash session, so I will wear out my trenchers before trying new tires.

@Vision_tim- Thanks. The truck was sitting on the bench for a good five months, so I needed to run it hard.

@spenniepoos-Thanks man. I had a great time bashing the truck after looking at it for so long. I finally understand why so many people are addicted to the p4de.

I went to the same area to bash yesterday, and the truck worked beautifully. I'm starting to get the hang of driving it and its more fun than my 2wd rustler. At the end of the session, which probably lasted a good 20 minutes of constant running, the motor was about 167* and the esc was 119*(Ambient temperature was around 75*). I'm a bit worried about the motor and will probably look into a heat sink or fan. Any good ones out there?

I had the mips axles on the p4de but the passenger side pin fell out while I was running. I wish they provided a cap or cover in order to lock the pin in like they did on the mips I have on my anza slash.

I am putting a castle creations mamba monster 2 combo with the 2200 kv motor. That motor would give you enough torque and speed. Good luck!!

Wow, that motor is going to make your p4de fly! What type of battery do you plan on running with it? Be sure to make a thread for us.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:
I know nothing about tuning diffs and what type of fluid should be in them. Today I completely tore down the p4de for cleaning and maintenance, and I decided to look in the rear differential. To me, it looks like there is only grease inside of it. I've read on the forum about tuning diffs with different weights of fluid, and I'm wondering if somebody could explain to me how that works. What is the procedure and what is a good diff fluid to start with for all around bashing? Can I use the stock diff or do I need a better, sealed brand? Thanks in advance.

I ended up putting 30 k weight in the rear and 50 k weight up front as per the advice of cossack4, (Thanks man!) and I can tell the difference in performance. The truck seems more smooth and responsive to me. With the limited time that I was able to run, I noticed that when under acceleration, the front tires would balloon really bad and the rear seemed to be putting out no power. At first I though that I stripped ANOTHER desperado because the drive shaft was spinning but the wheel wasn't moving. A little upset, I put the truck away. Today I inspected it a bit and discovered that the mip metal hex also spun inside one of my short course wheels. The hex itself is toast and rounded on the edges which seems strange being that its metal, so now I'm putting on the stock drive shafts to see how it performs. I'll post pictures after the run.

Yeah dude it sucks when the hex fails but check out slaughters hex fix man and tell us what you think of the way the truck handles..........peace

Yeah I saw the thread for slaughter's fix and it is pretty creative. I suppose I could drill and tap the metal hex on the mips but the hex is already too worn for that method to work.

While running today I found that the truck is a speedster. It accelerates in the blink of an eye and is pretty stable for being a monster truck with the large trenchers. The down side now is the temps are running high and actually caused the esc to shut down. I checked it and the motor was at 160* with the esc at 120*. I don't remember what pinion I'm at now but I'll have to drop it down a few teeth.

After running in the street, my next pack was for some jumps in the backyard. Here I learned that the brakes are VERY strong. I went into the castle link and turned them down to 70% but they may even need to go lower. I was starting to get used to its characteristics and it was a fun learning experience UNTIL........ the dreaded drive shaft twisted like a pretzel. So now that leaves me unable to use my mips because of the rounded hexes and unable to use the stockers. I think I'm going to look into the tekno shafts for now. Does anybody have any experience with them??

Here are some new pictures with a traxxas prographix shell on. The shell is extremely thin and weak so it will need a shoo goo treatment before bashing.

And after my run a few days ago, the screws connecting the wheelie bar and rear bumper to the diff housing pulled through the plastic. The screws are still in the diff housing though. Again, I also broke a rear drive shaft too.